Real-life advice from a real-life recruiter

Did you know that bullying not only occurs in schools and homes but also at work? – Yes work!

So how does this happen? Well according to Times Business and Money magazine authors- Bullying in the workplace continues because the leadership of the company often isn’t aware of their behavior, either because it goes unreported (many victims are too frightened or embarrassed to draw attention to their plight) or because the bullies are good at masking their behavior and/or fooling their superiors.

Many bullies are very socially skilled, and use their bullying behavior strategically to coerce others into providing them the resources needed to achieve their work-related objectives.

Tell the bully exactly how his/her behavior is impacting your work. (Because much of my work is confidential, these actions make me feel as if I need to hide what I am working on from you, or change a screen which is a waste of my time.)

Remember you want to be strategic when engaging the bully BUT you also want them to know that you will stand your ground if they continue to challenge you after you’ve addressed the disruptive behavior.

Hello fellow followers, did you know that having sharp interviewing skills is important to you landing the job. But did you also know that asking the wrong questions can lead to your interviewer questioning your candidacy? Take a look at the top five questions to NOT to ask in your first interview…

1.) How soon do you promote employees?

“An individual asking this question may come off as arrogant and entitled,” says recruiter Josh Tolan of SparkHire.com.

2.) Questions that start with “why?”

Why? It’s a matter of psychology. These kinds of questions put people on the defensive, says Kohut. She advises repositioning a question such as, “Why did the company lay off people last year?” to a less confrontational, “I read about the layoffs you had. What’s your opinion on how the company is positioned for the future?”

3.) “Who is your competition?”

This is a great example of a question that could either make you sound thoughtful … or totally backfire and reveal that you did zero research about the company prior to the interview, says Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of CareerTrend.net. Before asking any question, determine whether it’s something you could have figured out yourself through a Google search. If it is, a) don’t ask it and b) do that Google search before your interview!

4.) “How often do reviews occur?”

Maybe you’re concerned about the company’s view of your performance, or maybe you’re just curious, but nix any questions about the company’s review or self-appraisal policies. “It makes us think you’re concerned with how often negative feedback might be delivered,” says Kohut. Keep your confidence intact, and avoid the topic altogether–or at least until you receive an offer.

5.) “May I arrive early or leave late as long as I get my hours in?”

Even if you make it clear that you’re hoping for a flexible schedule to accommodate a legitimate concern such as picking up your kids from daycare, Barrett-Poindexter advises against this question. “While work-life balance is a very popular concern right now, it’s not the most pressing consideration for a hiring decision-maker,” she says. “Insinuating early on that you’re concerned about balancing your life may indicate to your employer that you are more concerned about your needs and less concerned about the company’s.

Did you know that when you exhibit supportive behaviors in a genuine and authentic way you encourage and support your employees to become the very best they can be? Check out the following “how to be supportive tips” from Kevin Eikenberry

How to be support your employees to a win!

Collaborate. As a leader or supervisor, you cannot do everyone’s work, or do their work for them. You must, of course, delegate and empower others to do their work. And yet as a leader you must create a sense of shared ownership. You need to see yourself (and the team needs to see you) as a part of the team. While your role may be different, you are still a part of the team. When you see yourself, and act as a part of the team, others will feel supported in their actions

Empathize. To empathize is to understand how the other person feels. One of the most important things you can ever do is let people know you understand how they are feeling. You may not agree with their perspective, you may even think there were actions they could have taken to avoid the situation they now find themselves in (those may be points for personnel coaching at the appropriate time). But legitimately empathizing is one of the most supportive things you can do for another person or group.

Give positive feedback. Do you want to be more supportive? Tell people more often what they do well and what they are doing right. Almost no know hears this type of feedback often enough.

Recognize someone’s value When you let people know you value them as an individual you are supporting them. When you do have to give feedback about performance, it is important that you separate performance from who they are. We are supportive when we care about people and show it (and not just say it).

Be quiet, and listen. When you listen you are showing you value their feelings and opinions. When you listen you are communicating that you care. This may seem so basic, but it is so powerful. Why? Because most people reported that they are rarely truly listened to.

Recognize their goals and interests. People are more than their on-the job performance. When you know something about people’s strengths, interests and long term objectives, you can often help them reach those objectives and support those interests.

As the late Sir Isaac Newton taught us a long time ago, objects at rest tend to stay at rest and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. This is just as true for humans as it is for falling apples, and even though most of the tasks we procrastinate on aren’t actually difficult to do- we have the talent and skills to accomplish them. We find ourselves avoiding starting them for one reason or another.

What is the 2-minute rule?

The 2 minute rule comes from David Allen’s bestselling book, Getting Things Done. David recommends if it takes less than two minutes to complete the task-then do it now. ” The goal is to make it easier for you to get started on the things you should be doing. Now obviously every goal you have can’t be completed in 2minutes or less BUT every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less, and that’s the purpose behind this little rule.

Want to become a better writer? Just write one sentence (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll often find yourself writing for an hour.

Want to eat healthier? Just eat one piece of fruit (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll often find yourself inspired to make a healthy salad as well.

Want to make reading a habit? Just read the first page of a new book (2–Minute Rule), and before you know it, the first three chapters have flown by.

Want to run three times a week? Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, just get your running shoes on and get out the door (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll end up putting mileage on your legs instead of popcorn in your stomach.

Remember what Sir Isaac Newton taught us…objects at rest tend to stay at rest and objects in motion tend to stay in motion.

What’s something that you can do now that will only take 120 seconds of your time? Do it right NOW!

Did you know that as a leader giving feedback is a responsibility you perform again and again? Letting people know where they are and where to go next in terms of expectations and goals – yours, their own, and the organizations.

Here are some tips on how to effectively give constructive feedback

Begin with the positive and with sincere praise and appreciation.

Avoid saying “You do this well, but…” because the follow up criticism wipes out the praise.

Point out the persons importance to you and the organization.

Mention your own development areas and what you are doing about them.

Discussing the Results

Listening skills are the key to a successful feedback meeting

Let him or her do a great deal of the talking.

Ask many questions about his/her point of view

Put yourself in his/her shoes and really understand what he/she is saying

Focus not only on what the person says, but what he/she feels.

Let him/her draw their conclusions before giving your opinion

Giving your Point of view

Focus on behaviors and styles, not the person.

Avoid saying “you’re wrong” point blank; this just makes people defensive.

Show confidence that the person can improve… he or she can!

Setting Goals

Let the person set goals and strategies for development when possible.

Make sure your expectations are clearly stated in terms of behaviors or results. Avoid vague goals like “be more energetic”

Set up timetables for improvement.

So remember, your objective in giving feedback is to provide guidance by giving information in a useful manner, either to support effective behavior, or to guide someone back on track toward successful performance.

Hello Fellow Followers! Today’s blog will discuss the ways you can lead your employees to development and get positive business results.

Below are some leadership strategies from Judy Agnew Positive Management Training program that will help improve the health of employees and lead to positive business results:

Develop relationships with direct reports. Good relationships make people feel cared for and enable the use of positive reinforcement which leads to discretionary effort.

Be specific about what employees need to achieve business results. Vague requests and directions are stressful. Provide more frequent and helpful feedback on performance. Evidence of improvement or movement in the right direction helps reduce the sense of being overwhelmed. Immediate corrective feedback helps employees get back on track quickly.

Focus on the positive. Talking to employees when they do the right things more than when they make mistakes or miss the mark will energize them to work harder.

Do more asking and less telling. Asking employees’ sense of control, is more reinforcing, and helps leaders learn more about who they report to directly.

Use shaping to help employees improve. Looking for and positively reinforcing gradual improvements in performance is more effective and less stressful than setting stretch goals.

Assume your job is to create an environment that promotes success. When employees know your goal is to help them be successful they will work harder for you and be happier doing

Today’s blog is a continuance from the previous blog “Money Isn’t Everything”. Check out what Michael Jalbert suggests as important questions to help in the retention of your team members.

Michael Jalbert, president of MRINetwork Consider asking questions to enhance communications between managers and employees. He suggests you’ll often discover things about your company culture or work environment that need “fixing” and you can do so by asking the following questions:

If you could make any changes about your job, what would they be?

What things about your job do you want to stay as they are?

If you could go back to any previous position and stay for an extended period of time, which one would it be and why?

If you suddenly became financially independent, what would you miss most about your job?

In the morning, does your job make you jump out of bed or hit the snooze button?

What makes for a great day?

What can we do to make your job more satisfying?

What can we do to support your career goals?

Do you get enough recognition?

What can we do to keep you with us?

Jalbert also says, the key to keeping employees, he adds, is promptly addressing issues that could lead to their leaving, and to make sure they clearly understand situations that can’t be easily changed.

What questions would you or do you ask your employees to maintain retention?